Chapter 135 If the world is so rotten, who can save it?
Evening, Ginza Higashiya, Tokyo.
This is a Japanese tea shop. When customers step into this shop filled with the aroma of classic tea, they can leave all their worries behind. Higashiya's main store is used to enjoy desserts, and it also opens a tea room for customers to enjoy traditional tea.
Anson Lu and Yuliu were sitting in the store, and the NPC waiter brought matcha flavored pastries.
The cake looks very appetizing, with a strong tea flavor and a slight sweetness intertwined to create a subtle beauty, as if allowing people to experience the beauty of mono no aware in Japanese culture.
However, Anson Lu had no time to eat cakes or drink tea.
He didn't like tea in the first place. Except for drinking tea and chatting with the old man in the principal's office, he hardly touched any drinks at other times and only drank boiled water all day long.
At this moment, Anson Lu was recording text on his phone and said nonchalantly, "From my personal opinion, we should first kill the boss in Tokyo Bay, and then consider entering the Sky City."
"On what basis?" asked Julius.
"Once we get on that sky island, we might not be able to return to land. If we can't defeat the boss, we won't be able to escape." Anson Lu said without hesitation:
"But if it's the squid in Tokyo Bay, even if we can't defeat it, unless it floods the entire city of Tokyo, we should have room to escape. After all, the venue for the boss battle is not restricted to a closed building like the 'Palace'."
Yuliu nodded and replied expressionlessly: "Indeed, judging from this, it makes sense to kill the squid first."
Anson Lu stretched his stiff neck and said, "That's it. Cosimo and Kamishiro Ruri are official people, and their identities are more convincing, so they will be responsible for gathering the remaining players."
Yuliu hesitated for half a second and asked, "Will this boss battle be easier if those players are not here?"
Anson Deer drank some water and said slowly:
"Tokyo is a capital-level city. The players who can queue for this dungeon are of high levels. Many of them have already changed their jobs. They are a force that cannot be underestimated."
"Heh, with a monster like you here, does it matter whether they come or not?"
"I'm not a god." Anson said disdainfully, "If I can kill that squid with a slap and knock over that damn sky city with a kick, what are you guys doing here?"
"My guess is..." Yuliu took a sip of hot tea and replied calmly, "Even if they are not here, the strength of our four sequence players is enough to win."
"What should we do next?"
"What do you mean?"
"As you said, in the dungeon, those ordinary players just watched us perform instead of accumulating any practical experience against the boss." Anson Lu paused and said:
"Then in half a year, if they are trampled to death by the snow dragon that descended on Tokyo due to lack of experience, won't we, the sequence players, have to fight them all?"
Yuliu said seriously: "This is what I think."
Anson Lu held up his chin and said nonchalantly:
"Come on, there are about 9 billion people in the world, and there are only an estimated 900 sequence players. After half a year, they have to go through a full 12 rounds of dungeons. It's a conservative estimate that only 200 people will die in the end."
"Aren't two hundred sequence players enough to deal with the snow dragon?" Yuliu asked.
"I don't think it's enough." Anson Lu sighed, "Otherwise, why would we need to gather players from all over the world to Tokyo to defeat it? That would be too much trouble."
"That's true..." Yuliu put down the teacup, "I hope that after the second job change of the ordinary profession, I can see something different."
"Be bolder. Maybe they will overtake us directly after the second transformation. We, the sequence players, will be nothing by then."
"That's impossible."
"Who knows what will happen in the future..." Anson Lu said slowly: "We Chinese have an old saying, called 'everything changes over time'. In short, don't think too highly of yourself."
Although he said this verbally, Anson Lu laughed at himself in his heart. He really knew a lot about the future, but it was all information he got from the principal.
A pile of information that is enough to keep him anxious for a long time.
"Let's not discuss this issue." Yuliu changed the subject and asked expressionlessly: "Come to think of it, why don't you usually speak like this in front of them?"
"What do you mean?"
"I can see that when you are among those people in the union, you always like to put yourself in a low position and act stupid. I want to know why?" Yuliu took a sip of tea.
Anson Deer tilted his head, "What's wrong with this?"
Yuliu shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing, I just wanted to say that our personalities have some similarities."
"Like what?"
"I escaped from the orphanage ten years ago and lived a wandering life for two years. I joined the Mexican Mafia a few years ago. After that, I climbed up the underground world with my abilities that were appreciated by others." Yuliu said deeply:
"In other people's words, I am just a lackey responsible for dirty work, but I know that if I don't do these things, someone else will do them for me. If I want to completely change these phenomena, I have to endure it and get to the top of the mafia."
"That sounds so nice..." Anson Lu raised his head and looked at Yuliu, "Let me guess, the reason you joined the Mafia is just to gain power and find a way to clear David Mena's name."
Yuliu did not comment, "You are almost right."
"I'm curious, why don't you take the right path?" Anson Lu picked up a piece of matcha cake and said casually:
"For example, study hard, get admitted to the best university in the United States, climb up the power chain, and finally become a very influential politician."
"It's not like you could ask a question like that. It's stupid."
Anson Lu took a bite of the cake and said, "Indeed, if you take the right path, there will be many restrictions. I guess you will never find a chance to clear David Mena's name in your life. But what have you gained by being so deep in the underground world?"
"Identity. I didn't even have one at first. I was a nameless person like David Mena." Yuliu said calmly, "And...power. At least in Mexico, with my power, I can get a fake ID for David Mena, provide him with a stable residence, a well-paid job, and help him find the most perfect psychiatrist."
He sneered and said disdainfully: "If I listened to you and took the right path, more than a decade would have passed. Given David's physical condition, his body would have rotted into mud in an alley in the United States."
Anson Lu chewed slowly, savoring the tea-flavored cream on the cake. "He's such a righteous man. Does he feel good when he sees you going to the underworld for him?"
"Humph, it doesn't matter what he thinks."
"Oh, so just because he gave you some help when you were wandering, you spent nearly ten years doing all this to repay him?"
"You may have made a mistake. If it weren't for David Mena, I might not be alive today." Yuliu stared coldly at Anson Lu with his dark green eyes:
"I was only 10 years old at the time. Without his protection, I don't know how many times I would have been beaten to death on the streets of Mexico."
"So, you told me these experiences to prove how similar we are?" Anson Lu lowered his head and started a game of Tetris. "My past is not as complicated as yours."
"The similarity between us is that we can do whatever it takes to achieve our goals, regardless of other people's opinions." Yuliu was silent for half a second, then continued:
"But our ultimate goal is good. It was David Mena who taught me to keep a kind heart so that I would not become a demon in the dye vat of the underworld."
Anson Lu curled his lips and said teasingly:
"Oh wow, the man who climbed to the top of the mafia said that he kept a kind heart. At the beginning of 2026, I heard a joke that is enough to be collected for a whole year. Thank you, Xiao You."
"I've said it before... If I don't do those things, someone else will do them for me, and do them more cruelly. In comparison, I even saved a lot of people's lives." Yuliu looked disapproving.
"That's it. It's up to you." Anson Lu poked the phone screen with his finger. "But you think too much about me. I'm not as great as you say. I won't do anything to achieve my goal. Besides... I'm not kind either."
"From what I've observed, you are the kind of person I described, but it seems that the last subway incident has shaken you."
"shake?"
"Otherwise," Yuliu interlaced his fingers and rested them on his chin, "could you explain...where you were all day yesterday?"
"sleep."
Anson Deer replied, poking the phone with more force.
"I just want to say that even if you chose not to open the door, I would understand you. I am not like Cosimo, who would question your original intention." After a pause, Julius said calmly:
"Sacrificing those two people to save the lives of the entire vehicle was the right choice, but not everyone would make that choice."
Anson Lu sighed and turned off his phone. "So, I chose another answer because I am a normal person and I can't make choices as decisively as you do. Do you understand?"
"No... You hesitated, and hesitated for a long time, which is totally inconsistent with your usual style." Yuliu said, "Originally, your answer should be the former, right?"
Anson Lu raised his head, met Yuliu's gaze, and said slowly:
"So, you want to prove that I'm a scum who doesn't care about human life? That's unnecessary. Crow has told me many times that I'm a machine that follows the correct values and doesn't care about other people's feelings."
"This is where we are similar. I will choose the former answer as well," said Yuliu. "Although the latter is the most perfect one in terms of the result, I am rational enough."
"I chose another answer, don't you understand?"
"I just want to tell you that your original answer is also correct, and you don't need to question yourself because of it."
"Ha, ha, ha." Anson Lu laughed dryly. "Come on, am I questioning myself again?"
"It's normal. When I was in the mafia, I questioned myself countless times." Yuliu said deeply, "But I survived because I reminded myself countless times in my heart who I really am."
Anson Deer took a sip of tea and said expressionlessly: "Oh, what does that have to do with me?"
"I firmly believe that if humans want to win this battle, the strongest person must know how to make choices and not be hindered by personal feelings." Yuliu said nonchalantly:
"You can completely stick to your original style and become a leader who is cold and rational enough, letting those who need to be sacrificed make the sacrifices, and take the path with the highest chance of success."
"You sound quite serious, but what if I ask you to die?"
"Me too." Yuliu said calmly, "If I have to die in order to win this battle, then I will do my duty." After a pause, he continued:
"But... you have to promise me that after I die, you will also make public the official information of 'David Mena' in your hand, instead of just doing it perfunctorily."
Anson Deer's face twitched slightly.
He opened his mouth and was silent for a long time, unable to utter a word.
"I'm tired...can we stop discussing these issues?" he whispered.
"No one in the world is better than you. Every decision you make will affect the future. You should be clear about your responsibilities and make the calmest and most correct judgment."
The headmaster's face flashed through Anson Deer's mind.
He gritted his teeth and said in an extremely indifferent voice: "You know, the last person who did this is dead. He died like a maggot, which is disgusting."
"So what?"
"I'm talking about the principal I mentioned to you before."
Yuliu was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He frowned and asked:
"He... is already dead?"
"Yes, he is dead." Anson Deer took a deep breath. "He also told me a lot of things. In the future, the human world was destroyed by the snow dragon. He said that I was unsuccessful."
Yuliu's expression was somewhat incredulous, and his eagle-like eyes seemed thoughtful.
Anson Deer shrugged and said slowly: "I told you before that he is me from the future. When he admitted this, he also admitted his failure."
Yuliu frowned.
He never expected that things would be so absurd - the world had been destroyed once, and the last Anson Deer traveled back in time and became the principal of a listed high school, secretly setting up many schemes.
Everything is too complicated.
"He said I'm different from him, but I don't know...what exactly is the difference?" Anson Lu's voice was full of anger. "He just told me a bunch of things in a mess, but he didn't tell me what I should do at all."
Yuliu took a deep breath and asked in confusion: "What clues did he leave behind?"
"He told me not to fight alone, and that I was no longer alone, and that was it." Anson Lu smiled.
"Don't fight alone anymore..." Yuliu frowned and murmured, "So, you in the previous world line only told you this."
"Yes, do you think it's funny?" Anson Lu said self-deprecatingly: "Originally, after meeting the principal, Crow, Yuri, Asuka and others, I really felt for the first time that I was not so lonely anymore, and there were so many people around me.
In the end, the old man told me that everything I was going through was arranged by him..."
After a pause, he continued:
"This guy must have a problem with his brain. He is a guy who doesn't understand human nature, but he placed a group of people around me without permission, a group of weirdos like me, so that I can huddle with them for warmth, and then he disappeared without a trace, saying that I am no longer lonely?"
He gritted his teeth and said heavily, "I'm not lonely, isn't that disgusting?"
"At least..." Yuliu hesitated, his throat a little dry.
He had a complicated expression and had no idea how to comfort the young man in front of him.
After all, everything Anson Deer experienced was too bizarre - the responsibility of saving the world suddenly shouldered on his shoulders, the apocalypse prophecy from the future, and a life arranged like a puppet.
If any other ordinary person had experienced this, they would have gone crazy long ago.
Who can accept all this calmly...
Anson Deer was silent for a long time, and then asked in a low voice: "Julius, tell me, what can I still believe in?"
Yuliu hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice: "If a person can't even trust himself, what else can he trust? How do you want me to answer you?"
"So, since you don't understand anything, then stop saying that you are similar to me..." Anson Lu raised his head, stared at Yuliu with empty eyes, and said word by word:
"You see, I really hate being analyzed. Having a crow around is enough to bother me."
".I understand."
"Okay, I'll take a rest then. Don't bother me if you have nothing else."
Yuliu gritted his teeth and said, "But, are you going to stay like this forever, let these things hit you so hard that you become depressed, and finally let the same failure happen to you again, just like the principal you mentioned?"
"Don't mention him to me again," Anson said. "Just pretend... I never said any of this."
Yuliu shifted his gaze and looked at Anson Deer's five fingers that were trembling with anger.
"I don't see any fighting spirit in you right now. I only see a lost, tantrum-throwing child. So, I need to confirm one thing - can you still stand up?"
"If you are defeated like this, it doesn't matter. Sooner or later, someone else will take up your responsibilities. However, I will not waste my time following you anymore."
"I don't want her to die."
"What?" Julius felt a little confused.
"Yuri, the Icelandic girl."
"If I'm not mistaken, the person who brought her death was the principal you mentioned, and that principal was you from the future." Yuliu snorted coldly and said slowly:
"If even your future self says that you no longer have a chance to save her, then are you still going to keep deceiving yourself and waste time on something that has already been decided?"
Anson Lu knew that Yuliu was right: Yuri's illness was caused by the principal, and the specific cause was unknown.
Moreover, the principal has lived in the future for decades, which means that he has knowledge and intelligence far beyond Anson Deer, and this is knowledge measured in decades.
However, since even the principal has said, "Appreciate the people around you."
So……
The outcome of Yuri's death is basically irreversible.
but……
All the principal saw was the future destroyed by the snow dragon. Therefore, he would use his limited knowledge to assert that Yuri was beyond saving.
There is another possibility.
That is the possibility hidden in another future direction.
Anson Deer said, "As long as I become stronger than that old man, as long as I can see beyond his field of vision, there is still a chance to find a way to keep Yuri alive."
"For example..." Yuliu asked with a frown.
"For example, if humans win the battle against the Tokyo dragon in half a year, I will be able to see something that the principal has never seen in his life." Anson Lu said slowly:
"Have you heard of a rumor? As long as you win the world boss battle and become the MVP in this boss battle, you will have a chance to face the 'game developer' directly."
Yuliu was stunned for a moment. "I've heard about it. It seems that it was spread by the law enforcement team. It is said that it is accurate information obtained in a capital-level copy. I don't know which member leaked it."
"Yes." Anson Lu said firmly: "This information should be correct. As long as I defeat the snow dragon and meet the 'game developer', I will have the opportunity to ask for a way to keep Yuri alive."
Yuliu whispered thoughtfully: "I understand. This is indeed a path I had never imagined..."
Even though he thought that this was difficult to achieve, if Anson Lu could regain his will with this idea, why should he pour cold water on him and tell Anson Lu that the hope was very slim?
"I will defeat the snow dragon in order to save my friends. Saving the world is just a byproduct. Who would go out of their way to help that disgusting old man and do what he failed to do?" Anson Deer took a deep breath and said fiercely:
"I'll tell him that what you can't accomplish in your entire life is as easy for me as eating and drinking water. Just wait for me, you bastard."
At this moment, staring at Anson Deer's gloomy profile, Yuliu suddenly frowned and stood there in shock.
A horrifying truth slowly formed in his mind.
Yuliu Mena suddenly understood what Anson Lu was depressed about, and why he hated the principal so much and looked at him like that.
The man called "the principal" planned for ten years and finally achieved his goal.
Not only did he change Anson's character, he also successfully used "Yuri's death" to guide Anson to raise his will and do his best to defeat the snow dragon that would descend on Tokyo half a year later.
In order to give mankind a brand new future.
He knows himself well enough, so he is confident enough - after he leaves, Anson Deer in this world line will definitely save the world, because Anson Deer will never let Yuri die like that.
And it was precisely because he knew that he had completely fallen into the principal's trap, but was powerless to change anything and could only follow the principal's guidance that Anson Lu became angry to this extent.
As long as Anson Deer in this timeline does not want the Icelandic girl to die, he must try his best to defeat the snow dragon and bring a new world to mankind.
Finally, find the possibility of saving the Icelandic girl from this new world.
At this point, Julius shuddered for no apparent reason.
He looked at Anson Lu's gloomy face and thought tremblingly in his heart: What kind of person could be so cruel to himself? How cold-blooded was Anson Lu in that timeline?
Yuliu realized that he had completely misunderstood.
If the person standing here at this moment was not Anson Lu, whose personality had been deliberately arranged and adjusted by the "Principal".
But it was the original Anson Deer who was indifferent and cold-blooded to the extreme.
After Yuliu was squeezed dry of his value, he must have died somewhere...
After all, the original Anson Lu was a man who could do this to himself, so how cruel would he be to others?
How can we establish a good cooperative relationship with others by trusting them?
perhaps……
The previous Anson Deer, the pale-haired principal, had long since completely abandoned his humanity and became a machine-like existence.
Yuliu's hands were covered in cold sweat. He bit his fingers and said, "I actually thought that he was not decisive enough and tried to guide his character to be more indifferent. Was I wrong?"
No need for guidance at all...
Because, in the original timeline, Anson Deer was already that kind of person.
But that Anson Deer failed, so he would go back to the past at all costs, and under the constraints of numerous rules, he would endure and plan to gradually change the character and thinking pattern of the Anson Deer in front of him.
"Sorry, I'm a little emotional today."
Anson Lu's tired voice interrupted Yuliu's thoughts. He patted Yuliu on the shoulder and said, "See you tomorrow, Yuliu Mena. You should also go to bed early."
After saying this, he hung his head and walked out of the tea shop.
In the silent tea shop, only Julius was left standing there in a daze, his mind still revolving in indelible fear and shock, his thoughts pouring out like a waterfall.
“Heh… heh…”
After a long time, Yuliu couldn't help laughing.
There was a light flowing in the young man's dark green eyes. He took a deep breath of the turbid air. The cold oxygen was like a sharp sword piercing his lungs, awakening his soul that was curled up tightly like a lamb to be slaughtered.
"I didn't follow the wrong person..."
Yuliu recalled Anson Lu's gloomy profile, slowly raised the corners of his lips, and murmured in a trembling voice:
"Mr. David, what exactly was I questioning before? If such a rotten world could be saved by anyone, it could only be this kind of out-and-out monster..."
Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets~Please give me monthly tickets.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com